DALLAS — Rick Carlisle is ready to let Jason Kidd and the Dallas Mavericks run. And run.
And run some more.
“When you play with Jason Kidd, you have to open it up,” Carlisle said Wednesday. “Our wing guys are going to have to get conditioned to really run. The thing Jason Kidd does better than probably any point guard in the league is push the ball ahead.”
Carlisle was hired over the weekend to replace Avery Johnson, who got the Mavericks to the NBA Finals in 2006 and a franchise-record 67 wins in ‘07 but wore out his welcome with consecutive first-round playoff flops and problems with team owner Mark Cuban.
Johnson was fired two weeks ago Wednesday, the morning after Dallas was ousted by New Orleans. Carlisle quickly moved to the top of the candidate list compiled by Cuban and Donnie Nelson, the team’s president of basketball operations, despite having no connection to the organization. He wound up being the only candidate interviewed.
“I think he embodies all the good things the Mavs are looking to accomplish — hard work, ingenuity, creativity,” Cuban said. “We’re really proud and excited to have him here.”
Carlisle emphasized his ready-to-run mentality in the opening statement at his news conference. He also stressed that while more fun, “it’s a lot of work, a lot of sweat.”
“If you’re going to play at a faster tempo offensively, there’s an unbelievable physical commitment,” Carlisle said. “It’s probably going to be one of the tougher training camps. … The summer our guys have in terms of preparation and conditioning is going to be absolutely critical.”
Carlisle added that he plans to keep the defensive core established by predecessor Avery Johnson, prompting a whisper of “That’s cool” from Dirk Nowitzki, who was sitting with the media to hear what his new coach had to say.
“We’ve got to be passionate and vigilant about what Avery [started] here,” Carlisle said.
Traditionally, Carlisle has enforced a more structured, balanced setting, mainly during his days with the Indiana Pacers. In fact, Indiana’s replacement head coach for Carlisle, Jim O’Brien, has adopted the “run ‘n gun” style with a near-identical roster.
Dallas surely has a cast of athletes that exhibit the tools to succeed in the open court, specifically Josh Howard, Jason Kidd, and Jason Terry. It will be interesting to see whether or not Carlisle is able to adapt to a style that contradicts his former philosophies.
Stay tuned, Dallas. You’re in for a new brand of basketball. Whether it’s for better or worse remains to be seen.
